Hydrangeas go 'gangbusters' ahead of Cape Cod's annual flower festival

Hydrangeas are popping across New England this summer. And the Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival is giving people a rare opportunity to step into more than 100 private gardens to admire them during a year of exceptional blooms.

"This year, the hydrangeas are amazing," said C.L. Fornari, who founded the festival in 2015 in collaboration with the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce.

Fornari credits rain and mild temperatures for this year's bountiful blossoms.

"The wet summer that we had last summer, and the wet fall, then the mild winter means they are all blooming gangbusters," she said.

The flowering shrub, often with large rounded heads of blue or pink or white, have become something of a signature plant on Cape Cod. And while you could hardly walk a block without seeing one, there are also dedicated gardens for extensive varieties of the plant.

The Cape Cod Hydrangea Society Display Garden promises a display of more than 155 varieties, many of which are not in cultivation anywhere else.

Each garden tour costs $5 per person and runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The proceeds directly benefit local nonprofits, including museums, libraries and food pantries.

"Most years we raise between $90,000 and $100,000 for local nonprofits. It varies from year to year, but I'm hoping that we might top that $100,000 mark since we do have 100 gardens open," Fornari said.

The festival, celebrating its 10th year, also offers a variety of workshops and lectures by leading horticulturists. Those include opportunities to learn techniques for growing and caring for hydrangeas and other plants.

The Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival runs through Sunday, July 14.